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2006–07 Colorado Avalanche season
The 2006–07 Colorado Avalanche season was their 11th National Hockey League season in Denver, Colorado. It was a season of transition for the Avs, as the team began the season with a new General Manager in Francois Giguere, ending the twelve year reign of Pierre Lacroix.Giguere hired as new Avalanche GM, tsn.ca, May 24, 2006, accessed February 2, 2007. The off-season also featured the departures of Alex Tanguay and Rob Blake, continuing the trend of star players leaving Denver that began the previous year.2006 off-season transactions, proicehockey.about.com, accessed February 2, 2007. After a decade near the top of the Western Conference standings, the Avalanche were expected to struggle to make the playoffs in 2006–07.Dater, Adrian, More stars desert Denver, The Hockey News 2006–07 season preview, pp. 90–93. The team's expected decline also saw attendance take a hit, as Colorado's NHL record sellout streak of 487 games was ended on October 16 when 17,681 tickets were sold for a game, 326 shy of a sellout.Frei, Terry, Avs see sellout streak get away, Denver Post, October 17, 2006. Joe Sakic was the lone representative for the Avalanche at the 2007 All-Star Game in Dallas. Sakic recorded four assists at the game.2007 All Star Game box score, espn.com, accessed February 11, 2007. Entering the final week of the season on April 3, 2007, Colorado was 7 points behind the Calgary Flames for the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference standings. Needing Calgary to lose all four games that week and for them to win all four they fell short by 1 point. Calgary losing to Colorado, San Jose, Edmonton, and again to Colorado did not capture a point that week and Colorado winning three out of four was knocked out of contention when they lost to the Nashville Predators on April 7, 2007. The following night, the Avalanche beat the Flames 6–3 giving them 95 points overall on the season and one short of Calgary who had 96. With the 95 points, the Avalanche became the team with the highest point total in a season to not make the playoffs. Regular season Season standings Game log |- | November: 7–7–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 4–4–0) |- | December: 6–7–0 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–0) †December 21 game against Calgary was postponed due to a snowstorm. The game was made up on April 8. |- | January: 7–3–2 (home: 4–1–2; road: 3–2–0) |- | February: 5–8–1 (home: 4–4–0; road: 1–4–1) |- | March: 11–1–2 (home: 3–1–0; road: 8–0–2) |- | April: 3–1–0 (home: 1–1–0; road: 2–0–0) †Makeup date for the December 21st game that was postponed. |} Player stats Skaters Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Colorado. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only. ‡Traded during the season. Goaltenders Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average Transactions The Avalanche were involved in the following transactions during the 2006–07 season.NHL Insider - Offseason Trades, nhl.com, accessed December 2, 2006.NHL Insider - Free Agent Signings, nhl.com, accessed December 2, 2006. Trades Free agents | valign="top" | |} Draft picks Colorado's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.2006 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com - accessed December 22, 2006. Farm teams Albany River Rats The Avalanche signed a one year deal to join the Carolina Hurricanes as the NHL affiliate for the River Rats for the 2006–07 AHL season. During the season, the Avs announced that they had signed a long term deal to be the NHL affiliate of the new Cleveland expansion team beginning in 2007–08. Coincidentally, the new franchise is a reincarnation of the Utah Grizzlies franchise, which played in Denver as the Denver Grizzlies until 1995, when the Avs came to Denver.Coming to Ohio, CNNSI.com, December 17, 2006, accessed December 22, 2006. Arizona Sundogs The Sundogs began their inaugural season in the Central Hockey League. See also *2006–07 NHL season References *'Player stats:' Colorado Avalanche player stats on espn.com. *'Game log:' Colorado Avalanche game log on espn.com. *'Team standings:' NHL standings on espn.com. Goaltenders: • Defensemen • • • • • • • • • Forwards • • • • • • • • • • • • • 2006–07 Category:2006 in hockey Category:2007 in hockey